A Modern-Made Telecaster Time Machine!

1964 was a big year for the Fender Telecaster, as the model's new neck profile changed the way players approached the guitar. Today, Fender revisits that watershed model with a period-correct recreation in the American Vintage '64 Telecaster.

See the '64 Tele in action with this video from Fender:

Check out this video for an overview of the American Vintage Series:

A Neck and Body True to the Era

In 1964, Fender began offering guitars with a C-shaped neck profile that was more compact in players' hands than the thicker necks found on late '50s and early '60s models. The American Vintage '64 Telecaster echoes that innovation with a maple neck carved in the same C-profile, topped with a rosewood fretboard and vintage style frets.

This Telecaster's body also hearkens back to 1964, with its alder or ash construction -- depending on the finish you choose. Both woods offer playing comfort and bright, snappy tone.

New Pickups Bring the Past to Life

One of the few new developments featured on the American Vintage '64 Telecaster are its pickups. Fender developed the Gray-Bottom single-coil pickups specifically for this model, to recreate the sound and response of its historic Telecasters. The pickups are wound to match the specs of the period and the bridge pickup includes staggered pole magnets, just like in the original 1964 Telecaster.

Fender History Preserved in Details

The American Vintage '64 Telecaster includes several subtle nods to its namesake year in its hardware. The three threaded steel "barrel" saddles run the strings through the body for improved resonance and sustain. Rounding out the historic look are a three-ply pickguard with vintage bevel, knurled flat-top master volume and tone control knobs and a top-hat style three-way pickup selector switch. Under the surface, Fender aficionados will appreciate the vintage-style truss rod, which is adjusted from the neck heel rather than at the headstock.

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Fender American Vintage 64 Telecaster RW

1964 was a monumental year for popular music and a pivotal year for the Telecaster, too, as seen in the American Vintage '64 Telecaster. The thicker maple necks of the '50s and early '60s now gave way to a more rounded C-shaped profile, this time topped with a round-laminated rosewood fingerboard with larger pearl dot inlays. Other vintage-accurate touches include a lightweight alder body (ash on White Blonde model), staggered bridge pickup pole magnets, threaded steel "barrel" bridge saddles, three-ply white pickguard with eight holes, top-hat switch tip, flat-top knurled chrome control knobs and more.

The American Vintage series introduces a lineup of original-era model year guitars that bring Fender history and heritage to authentic and exciting life. With key features and pivotal design elements spanning the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, American Vintage series instruments delve deep into Fender's roots -- expertly preserving an innovative U.S. guitar-making legacy and vividly demonstrating like never before that Fender not only knows where it's going, but also remembers where it came from.

The American Vintage Series has long presented some of Fender's best selling guitars (their early-'80s introduction, in fact, was one of the first signs that Fender was "back" as the CBS era ended). Today, Fender has boldly cleared the slate to make way for a fresh American Vintage series with features, specs and the most meticulous level of vintage accuracy yet. Rather than just replacing the previous models with different ones, we've completely and comprehensively re-imagined the entire vintage-reissue concept -- restoring original tooling dies, voicing pickups, reformulating vintage colors and more--based on actual vintage guitars we tracked down to make sure we had it right. We did the work, and it shows, because there's pure tonal magic in each American Vintage instrument.

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